Tajikistan to become full-fledged WTO member in mid-2013

October 26, 2012, 21:17 UTC+3The next session of the WTO General Council slated for December will extend an official invitation to Dushanbe to become a WTO member

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GENEVA, October 26 (Itar-Tass) — The Working Party for Tajikistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) passed a package of documents at a regular session of the WTO General Council that ended on Friday.

The package of documents included the Working Party’s report which sets forth an entire set of rights and commitments which Tajikistan is expected to take on upon completion of the entry talks; a list of tariff concessions on goods and agricultural subsidies; a list of service commitments, the accession protocol and a legally-binding draft of a resolution of the WTO General Council.

The next session of the WTO General Council slated for December will extend an official invitation to Dushanbe to become a WTO member. After that, the Tajik national parliament will have to ratify the package of documents. Tajikistan will have about six months to finish all the formalities. It means that after twelve years of talks Tajikistan will become a full-fledged member of the WTO, uniting 157 countries, in the middle of next year.

Laos also received an invitation on Friday to join the WTO that regulates more than 97% of global trade. Laos is one step ahead of Tajikistan in becoming a WTO member. Laos reached an agreement on its package of documents late September that should now be ratified by the Laotian parliament.